MEDIA RELATIONS OFFICE
JET PROPULSION LABORATORY
CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
PASADENA, CALIF. 91109. TELEPHONE (818) 354-5011
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov
IMAGE CAPTION Caldera in Sippar Sulcus, Ganymede
March 1, 2001
An irregularly shaped caldera, or pit, within the bright swath
called Sippar Sulcus on Jupiter's moon Ganymede dominates this
image taken by NASA's Galileo spacecraft. The high-standing
interior of the caldera is interpreted as evidence of the flow
of a viscous material.
Elevation modeling indicates the height of the westernmost
caldera floor material (arrow) is comparable to adjacent
grooved material but decreases towards the east (right), where
it is similar to nearby, lower-lying smooth terrain. The
smooth terrain, generally lacking grooves or stripes, extends
across the upper half of the image and crosscuts a similar but
grooved band at the lower right. Analysis of such high-
resolution images in combination with estimates of the
features' relative elevations is helping scientists interpret
the roles of of volcanism and tectonics in creating the
bright terrain on Ganymede.
This image was prepared by the Lunar and Planetary Institute,
Houston, and included in a report by Dr. Paul Schenk et al. in
the March 1, 2001, edition of the journal Nature.
The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California
Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Galileo
mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C.
Images and data received from Galileo are posted on the
Galileo mission home page at http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo.
Background information and educational context for the images
can be found at http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/sepo .
# # # # #